Give Thanks

Oct. 11, 2009.

Outside my window...another cool, crisp, but sunny fall day.
I am thinking...that this week, my favourite patient, whom I've nursed for six years, ended up in the I.C.U. He's 87, and I knew this would happen eventually, but it was still hard to see him there, intubated and unresponsive. In 23 years of nursing, he is the only patient I would call my favourite. He was a sailor during WW2 and his ship was torpedoed and he spent the night out on the Atlantic in a lifeboat. He has great stories to tell. We also read a lot of the same books, and after he reads them, he gives them to me. I stopped by to see him in the hospital across the street from ours. I talked to him and said my goodbyes, just in case he doesn't recover. I left a note for his daughter, but haven't heard any updates. I know that some nurses go to funerals of patients, but I never have. I tend to keep my distance emotionally, I guess, to protect myself from this kind of sorrow.
I am thankful for...my salvation, my marriage, my children (saved, smart, healthy, and sweet), my extended family, my job, my health, my home, my friends, my country, and my library. Oh, and I found not one, but two, beautiful party dresses. I'll wear one to the wedding next weekend, and the other to a dinner party I'm going to host at the end of the month.
From the kitchen...turkey,ham,curried goat, jerked king fish, rice and peas, veggies, salad, stuffing, gravy, apple pie, pumpkin pie and carrot cake.
I am wearing...a navy skirt and grey wool sweater.
I am reading...A Time to Surrender, by Sally John and Gary Smalley.
I am hoping...that we'll know when to begin house hunting. We met with the bank and pre-approved terms for a mortgage, and found out how much we can afford when we start looking. Now it's about timing. It was a good thing we went when we did, as the interest rates increased the following day.
I am hearing...the evening news. There was apparently a fire in the Ontario Legislature building at Queen's Park. That's across the street from where I work.
Around the house...my Mom is in Phoenix, Arizona, with my sister, who is on a business trip. I would've loved to go, but it's Thanksgiving weekend, and I am out of vacation days.
One of my favourite things...the display at church turned out okay, even though I had been searching for a cornucopia, to make it more Thanksgiving-ish. Here's a picture.
A few plans for the week...We're driving our daughter back to Hamilton tomorrow, and then beginning to prep our house for sale by cleaning out one closet at a time. Then I work three nights, and bake for the Ladies' Meeting at church on Saturday morning. I'll be speaking on Radical Hospitality. I thought I was done, but now I may tweak it a bit and fill it out some more. I'm getting a little nervous about the public speaking.